Founders Amanda and Richard Haddock’s Story as Parents to a Dragon Master
How Our Dragon Master (A.K.A. Cancer Warrior) Ignited This Initiative
When it comes to a patient and their family’s journey with cancer, time is a precious, fleeting resource. This was what we faced when our son, David, was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme in September 2010.
David was just 16 years old when he was diagnosed with cancer. He was funny, quirky, intelligent, kind, and adored by all who encountered him throughout his life. David dreamed of becoming a chef, the kind of person that brings people together to share each other’s company. He not only had the honor of meeting internationally renowned Chef Gordon Ramsay but also the privilege of calling Spanish Chef, José Andrés, his friend.

After four hospitals, a clinical trial, and countless prayers, we couldn’t save David. He passed away after a 20-month battle. As our family navigated through this journey with numerous doctors and countless questions, we discovered a severe frustration in the cancer research community- a lack of resources to share medical research data between doctors and researchers.
Clinical trial results take time, but time is limited in moments like these. Hoping to turn the loss of David into his legacy, we set forth to bridge the gap between isolated medical processes and real-time clinical research data. From this, the Dragon Master Initiative was born- a platform that would help solve the riddle of cancer through streamlined data sharing between researchers and institutions.
The Dragon Master Initiative seeks to expand CAVATICA, a free research tool that enables doctors and scientists to instantly share, search and analyze patient data. Expanding this tool will allow researchers to use big data to identify patterns and further their research to uncover cures for cancer more quickly.
Meet Our Executive Board
Through their unique strengths and backgrounds, our Executive Board pushes the Dragon Master Initiative toward our goal of getting closer to a cure for cancer.
Meet Our Childhood Cancer Advisory Board
Through their unique strengths and backgrounds, our Childhood Cancer Advisory Board pushes the Dragon Master Initiative toward our goal of getting closer to a cure for cancer.

Katherine E. Warren

Adam Resnick

Javad Nazarian

Sabine Mueller

Sarah Leary

Eugene Hwang
FAQs
Where did the name “Dragon Master” come from?
When it became obvious that we would need our own nonprofit to have the greatest impact, we started brainstorming names. We new the initiative would be larger that the other efforts we had encountered, and they already had some pretty impressive, global sounding names. We also had the idea that the kind of data we wanted to collect could go beyond typical research paradigms, and might initially be kind of hard to define. So we started thinking about terms that were more symbolic than literal. Cancer is often referred to as a beast, and our David had always loved dragons, so using a dragon as part of the imagery felt like a good fit. However, David loved dragons, so we wanted to have a name that would honor that love. We also thought that control of disease is the first step toward curing, so the term “master” seemed like a natural way to express that control.
What is CAVATICA and what is your role in supporting it?
Why is quick, streamlined data sharing so critical to medical professionals?
Medical professionals and researchers are forced to follow. By providing a free, open-access research tool that doctors and scientists can utilize simultaneously, time is cut dramatically in these processes. Widespread use of a platform like CAVATICA means that doctors will have access to more recent updates and information from the latest studies about pediatric brain cancer (and potentially many other cancer types.)
How can I take advantage of the Dragon Master Initiative’s efforts as a medical professional?
How can I support the Dragon Master Initiative as a researcher?
How can my company support the Dragon Master Initiative?
We offer ways to partner with the Dragon Master Initiative on a corporate level through events and donations. Learn more here.